South Elgin storms past Waubonsie for sweep

Updated: April 26, 2011 11:24PM

With the wind blowing out it was a hitter's day at the ballpark, and the South Elgin Storm gobbled up the lion's share of hits Saturday afternoon.

After defeating Waubonsie Valley 7-4 in the opener, the Storm collected 13 hits, including three home runs, in a 14-3, five-inning victory to complete the sweep in an Upstate Eight Valley baseball matchup.

Leadoff man John Menken cleared the fence twice and Kenny Lowden sent a ball over the 350-foot marker in left field leading the Storm attack. Andrew Weedman smacked three doubles and drove in four runs in the second game.

"We wanted to come out of the gate hitting, and when you put pressure on a team like that it's hard to come back," Menken said. "We kept getting after it and our pitchers did a phenomenal job. We did a great job all day of executing, and we really capitalized on their mistakes."

Sophomore David Palmer went the distance in the second game and improved to 4-0. Holding a 7-1 lead in the pivotal fourth inning, Palmer surrendered a leadoff single followed by a triple and an error. But he quickly composed himself and retired the next three batters limiting the Warriors (4-8 overall, 3-4 UEC) to two runs in the frame.

The Storm (10-3-1, 5-3-1) responded with seven runs in the fifth inning. Menken and Lowden each hit two-run homers, and three more runs crossed the plate after two batters were hit by a pitch with bases loaded and a walk with the bases full.

"For not playing in a long time with the weather, I'm very surprised that our kids came out and played that well for two games," said South Elgin coach Jim Kating. "Minimal errors, pitchers threw strikes, kids made plays and we finally got some timely hitting."

The Warriors dug themselves a hole in the third inning with two walks, a hit batter and an error; and the Storm feasted on the weakness. Weedman doubled home two runs with a drive to the left-field fence and Nate Halas followed with an RBI single before Nate Garris added a RBI on a fielder's choice.

Menken led off the fourth frame with a long ball to right field, and Robbie Green (three runs, two singles) singled on the next pitch. Jake Buhmann added a base hit, and Weedman knocked them both home with a double to right field.

"We just tried to take advantage of the hitter's count," Weedman said. "We were just sitting back and waiting on a fastball to drive."

Added Menken: "We were able to wait for our pitches. We didn't let their pitchers control the game. We took control."

Kyle Limonowski put the Warriors ahead with a solo homer in the second inning, but Waubonsie Valley managed a mere two hits the rest of the game. Palmer had a pair of perfect innings and struck out four.

Marty Knuth (2-0) earned the win in the first game going four plus innings. Eric Stazy relieved him to earn the save. The Warriors trailed 6-2 in the fifth frame, but cut the deficit in half when Eric Josupait belted a two-run homer. Stazy retired nine of the 10 batters he faced. Garris helped his pitcher with a pair of fine plays at third base.

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